


East and West, Sun and Moon

by zjofierose



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - East of the Sun and West of the Moon Fusion, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, East of the Sun and West of the Moon - Freeform, East of the Sun and West of the Moon Elements, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Keith is Psyche, M/M, Shiro is Eros, The Champion, and they lived happily ever after, food goo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 10:12:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17222018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zjofierose/pseuds/zjofierose
Summary: There is not the rushing of wind, the sound of ships' engines that he'd always expected when the Champion appears. No sun flares off chrome wings, no moonlight strikes upon soldiers' shields. Instead, the Champion appears silently and alone in the twilight, as huge as a house and easily the most dangerous thing Keith's ever seen.





	East and West, Sun and Moon

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which is itself an expansion of the Psyche/Eros myth. But you know, set in space, because Voltron.

There is not the rushing of wind, the sound of ships' engines that he'd always expected when the Champion appears. No sun flares off chrome wings, no moonlight strikes upon soldiers' shields. Instead, the Champion appears silently and alone in the twilight, as huge as a house and easily the most dangerous thing Keith's ever seen.

"What do you want with us," Keith asks, stepping in front of his father as the Champion comes to a rest in front of their meager shack. He’s the tallest man Keith’s met, but casts no shadow, makes no noise. "We have nothing of value for the likes of you."

"I have come to claim a companion," the Champion says, and if his voice weren't so flat, Keith would think it sounds apologetic. "I will not leave without one."

"I'll go," Keith says before his father can get a word out, because he knows what kind of monster the Champion is, he's heard tales all his life. He's lost his mother already; he will not lose his father to the greediness of an Empire that takes and takes. He steps forward, ignoring his father's pleas at his back.

The Champion simply nods and beckons him forward.

\--

The Castle is a massive ship that hovers in the sky, and Keith realizes with a dizzy feeling that the star he sees at dawn is simply this hulking prison, shining with the reflected light of their shared sun. He is installed in apartments that could house a dozen families with room to spare, and left alone.

It's no surprise when the Champion comes to him at night, but it is a surprise that he comes in total darkness, creeping across the room hesitantly and stopping Keith's hand immediately when it reaches for the lights. His voice is different, softer and more... human, Keith thinks, and the hint of apology Keith had imagined before is not a hint at all now, but a shaking certainty as the Champion asks Keith to keep him company, to tell him stories of his home.

The Champion's body, when Keith finally touches it, is not the hulking armored mass that appeared at his house in the desert or which he sees fighting in the Arena holos, but is rather the size of Keith's own father’s and battered, raised across with lines of scars and bruises that make the Champion hiss in pain if Keith presses too hard. One arm is metal, and Keith recognizes it from the holovids as the one that shoots purple light and destroys his enemies. He can't help but shudder when it wraps around him for the first time. The Champion pulls back instantly at the motion, and refuses to lay a hand on him for several nights after.

\--

Time settles into a routine of Keith spending his days alone and his nights with the Champion. There are no seasons on the Castle ship, but the passing of time is inexorable, and Keith becomes bored.

He occupies himself as best he can with the programs supplied to him, learning more in a few phoebs than he had in deca-phoebs of attendance at the local school. He loses vargas to staring out at the stars, watching the turn of their small planet below. He spends countless quintants in the empty training deck which is at his disposal, fighting mechanoid after mechanoid until he can perfectly replicate the moves he sees the Champion make in the Arena far below. He does all of this, and still he has time, too much time, to think.

_Who is the Champion,_ he wonders, _why is he here? Where did he come from, and why does he fight? What sort of man is he, and more, what sort of man would he be? What does he think about when he's fighting? What does he want from Keith?_

_What does he look like?_

It's a trivial thing, but it haunts Keith: he has come to know the Champion's body well, the corded muscle, the scarred flesh, the capable, human hand, yet he doesn't know the color of the Champion's eyes, whether his hair is light or dark. He knows it makes no sense, but it settles into his heart and will not be shaken - he needs to see the Champion's face. He can make peace with anything else, he thinks, but he must be able to know this one thing.

Such a small thing, such a petty detail, but it makes him like a man possessed. He holds out nearly another phoeb before he steals a quintessence glowstick from the armory and hides it under his bed. It takes him several nights to gather the courage to use it, nights which he spends mapping the Champion's face with his hands, stroking over a strong forehead and straight brows, a scarred nose and full lips, trying to convince himself that this is good, this is enough.

It’s not, and so on the third night he waits until the Champion has fallen asleep before he reaches under his bed and pulls free the glowstick, lighting it with a careful snap and holding it over the Champion's resting head.

Keith catches his breath in shock. Not only is the Champion human, he's the most beautiful man Keith's ever seen. His hair is raven dark save a lightning-struck shock of white in the front, his skin smooth and warm except for where it's crossed by scars. His jaw is strong, his nose regal, his face in sleep young and troubled.

Keith stares, not noticing the increasing heat of the glowstick until his finger begins to blister. He hisses in pain, dropping the light and freezing at the sudden clatter it makes as it hits the floor. His heart is in his mouth, but he knows he's too late as a hand seizes his wrist, the Champion coming awake beneath him with a face like an avenging angel. His expression in the guttering glow is struck through with terror and Keith can't bring himself to even protest the bone-grinding hold the Champion has on his arm.

"Keith," the Champion hisses through his teeth, " _what have you done_?"

"I just," Keith starts, but the Champion is already climbing out of the bed, still holding Keith in place by his arm.

"A deca-phoeb, Keith," the Champion says, his face twisting as the sounds of guards begin to echo down the hallway, "one deca-phoeb and the contract would have been broken, and we both would have been free. Now the witch Haggar will send me to her servant Sendak, and I will be his slave.” He clutches at Keith’s body, dragging him close, his breath coming fast with panic. “You couldn't wait?"

The Champion's voice is ripped raw, and Keith's heart falls to the floor at the desperation in his tone.

"I didn't know," he yells as the guards burst through the door and seize them both, twisting frantically in their grasp. " _Shiro!_ I'll come for you. I'll save you! I won't give up on you!"

The Champion makes no response, hanging limply as the guards drag him away.

\--

Keith comes to in the desert, alone in the house he'd grown up in. His father must have left for the city, he tells himself, must have been too alone with both Keith and his mother gone. He refuses to imagine any other possibilities, but instead sets out to collect what few provisions are left. Equipped with as much water and rations as he can easily carry, he sets out into the sands. He can only save one person at a time, and he has a promise to keep.

\--

He walks all day, and in the evening he comes to a small cave cut into the sandstone. Sitting in front of the cave is a young girl, her long brown hair blowing in the breeze.

"Hey!" she greets him, and sets aside the small black cube she's playing with to stand and offer her hand. "I'm Pidge. Who're you?"

"I’m Keith," he says, "what's that?"

"Oh, this?" she holds up the cube. "Oh, this?" it says, and Keith stares at it, making her laugh. "It's just an Olkari cube. Here, you take it." She presses it into his hand, tipping her head to the side. "You may need it."

"Thank you," he says, slipping it into his pocket. It settles cold and hard against his side. "I'm looking for the Castle ship, do you know how to get there?"

"The Castle ship?" she asks, leaning back to point at the sky, "the one that lives east of the sun and west of the moon?"

"Yes," Keith says, "I need to get there to free my friend."

"No," Pidge answers, scowling, "but the Castle took my father and brother. I've been trying to get there ever since. Rest here tonight, and tomorrow we'll go together and see what we can learn."

Keith fingers the cube in his pocket, and looks at the welcoming entrance to her cave.

"Okay," he says, and settles down by her fire.

\--

In the morning, Pidge pulls the cover off a bright red hoverbike hidden in the depths of the cave.

"Can you fly it?" she asks, and Keith nods, swinging a leg over the seat. Pidge scrambles on behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and crowing with glee.

"Let's go!" she shouts as Keith guns the engine, and with a burst of fumes they're off.

\--

They fly all day, pausing only to eat and drink. At night they come to the foot of a mountain and put down the bike down next to a small yellow tent.

"Hello!" says a large round boy, emerging from the tent, "are you staying for dinner?"

"Yes!" Pidge agrees, climbing off the bike, "who are you?"

"I'm Hunk," the boy answers with a smile, "please, come into my tent."

Inside the tent is a small table carefully laid with a patterned cloth and several place settings. At the end of the table sits a small machine, continually producing small green gobs. Keith’s never seen anything like it, and can’t tear his eyes away from its quiet repetition.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" Hunk asks, "I thought I was the only one in the desert."

"We're trying to get to the Castle Ship, the one that lies east of the sun and west of the moon," Keith says, and Hunk shudders as he sets small tin plates of goo in front of each of them. "Do you know how to get there?"

"That sounds dangerous," he says, "why would you do that?"

"To save the people we love," Pidge says, "and you should come with us."

"Oh no," Hunk says, shaking his head. "That doesn't sound like a thing for me. I'm happy right here on the ground, just me and my food maker."

"Bring the food maker," Pidge says, "we may need it."

\--

In the morning, they set off on the hoverbike: Keith, with the cube in his pocket, Pidge, with her arms wrapped around his waist, and Hunk on the back, clutching his food machine fearfully to his chest.

They fly all day until they come to the edge of a broad lake, at the edge of which sits a small hut surrounded by palm trees.

“Hello!” Pidge calls as they dismount, and a brown head pokes itself out of the entrance.

“Well, hello!” says a skinny boy, strutting out of the hut. “I’m Lance. Welcome to my home! What are you doing all the way out here?” He grins and cocks his fingers at them. “Did you come just to see me?”

“No,” says Pidge, frowning, and Hunk interrupts. “They’re looking for a way to get to the Castle ship. The one that floats east of the sun and west of the moon.”

“Yeah,” Keith adds, smacking the boy’s hand away from the polished curves of the hoverbike, “do you know how to get there?”

“Hmm,” Lance muses, rubbing his chin, “no, I can’t say that I do. But my girlfriend is the East Wind, and she might know. Stay the night here, have a milkshake with me, and tomorrow we can ask her.”

“A milkshake?” Hunk asks, looking excited, and Lance beams, leading them around the back of the hut to where a placid looking creature stands idly chewing.

“This is my Kaltenecker,” he says, “makes the best milkshakes you’ve ever had!”

“Good,” Pidge says as Hunk looks on excitedly, “bring that, too. We might need it.”

\--

In the morning they leave: Keith, and Pidge, and Hunk with the food machine, and Lance with the Kaltenecker. The bike moves more slowly, but after a day of travel they come to the East, where a beautiful girl with dark skin and white hair greets them.

“Princess!” Lance shouts, leaping off the bike and rushing over to kiss her hand, “It’s me, your Lancey-Lance! I’ve brought friends with a question for you, if you’ll find it in your heart to indulge them.”

“Greetings,” the girl says, extending her other hand in greeting. “I’m Allura! It’s a pleasure to meet you - how can I help?”

“We’re looking for a way to the Castle ship,” Pidge starts, and a look of sadness crosses Allura’s face. “What’s wrong, Princess?”

“The Castle ship was my home, once,” Allura says, her voice soft, and Lance wraps a comforting arm around her. “My family was thrown out by the wicked witch Haggar and her minions long ago. I haven’t been back since. But,” she says, perking up, “stay here the night, and in the morning I’ll blow you to my uncle Coran, the West Wind; he might know a way to get there!”

“Thank you, Princess,” Keith says, bowing, “we appreciate the help.”

“Anything to help the child of a friend,” she says, then turns to speak with the others further, leaving Keith to wonder at her words.

\--

In the morning, they board the hoverbike, all four of them and Kaltenecker. Lance kisses Allura’s feet, and begs her to come.

“I cannot,” she says, “I must remain here and cause the winds to blow. But if you break the Champion’s contract and reclaim the Castle ship, come back for me!”

“We will, Princess,” Lance vows, blowing her one last kiss from his seat on the rear of the vehicle. “We will!”

Allura smiles widely and lifts her hands, directing a huge rush of wind to pick them up and blow them across the desert to the west, screaming the whole way.

\--

“Well, hello there!” shouts a funny looking man with a large and bushy mustache as he runs across the sand waving, “Visitors! How novel! What could you be doing out here so far away from anything civilized?”

“We’re trying to get to the Castle ship,” Pidge says, dismounting with a thump.

“Princess Allura sent us,” Lance adds, “and she sends her regards.”

“Ah, the princess!” The man pulls on his mustache, looking wistful. “How I miss her! Such a wonderful girl! I knew her father, you know, back when we all lived on the Castle ship.”

“Can you help us get there?” Keith asks.

“I’m afraid I don’t have the access codes anymore,” he says, “now if my old Grandpappy were here, why he’d be able to get you in, no problem! But I’m afraid I’m no real help.” His face sinks for a moment, then brightens. “Aha!” he says, holding up a finger, “I know who might be able to help you, though! Stay here for the night, and in the morning I’ll blow you to the South Wind. He knows more than I do of the workings of the Galran empire, and might be able to help!”

“Thank you,” Keith says, and “thank you,” they all echo.

They bed down for the night beneath the stars, and in the morning, they board the hoverbike again, Keith, and Pidge, and Hunk, and Lance, and Kaltenecker, all hanging on tight.

“Alrighty then,” Coran shouts, “give Kolivan my best from the West! Toodle-oo!” and he draws a huge breath and blows them far, far away across the desert to the South.

\--

At first glance, the place where they land seems empty. There are sheer rock walls rising to either side of them, and a river running between only to disappear into the desert floor. Keith parks the hoverbike, and they all climb off, looking around for anyone there.

“Hello!!” Hunk calls, and the rocks answer back with his own voice. “ _Hello! Hello! Hello!”_

“Who goes there,” comes a new voice, “and who sent you?”

“We seek a way to the Castle ship,” Keith says, stepping forward. “My name is Keith; Coran, the West Wind, sent us.”

A huge man appears suddenly, seemingly out of the river itself. He is half again as big as Hunk, and purple, with long grey hair carefully braided to the side.

“You seem familiar,” he says to Keith, “have you come here before?”

“No,” Keith answers, “not to my knowledge.”

“We seek entrance to the Castle ship,” Pidge pipes up. “Can you help us?”

Kolivan turns to her. “Why do you seek this? It is a dangerous road you follow.”

“The Galra kidnapped my family,” she answers, her small face fierce. “I will have them back.”

“You may die,” he says, “the price of knowledge is often death.”

“We are willing to take that risk,” Keith says, holding his ground.

“We are?” he hears Hunk whisper in the background, but no one turns.

“Very well,” Kolivan says, turning and walking off. “You may stay here for the night, and in the morning I will blow you to my sister, the North Wind. She has been stealing the secrets of the Galra for many deca-phoebs, and will be able to help you.”

\--

Kolivan guides them to a hidden island in the river and bids them rest. In the morning, they board the hoverbike again, and point themselves to the North.

“Tell Krolia I have sent her a great gift,” Kolivan says, and Keith nods, even as he frowns in puzzlement, as Kolivan has given them nothing to bring. “May your quest prove fruitful!”

With that, he summons all of his might, and the West Wind picks the hoverbike up and flings it long and hard to the North.

\--

When they finally settle in the twilight realm of the North Wind, there is a woman standing and waiting for them. She is as tall as Kolivan, but spare; her skin is also purple, her eyes yellow, and she watches as they dismount and approach, a large, dark wolf waiting silently at her side.

“I don’t usually get guests,” she says quietly, “what brings you to the North?”

“We seek entrance to the Castle ship,” Keith says, “Kolivan said that you could help us.” He pauses. “He also said that he sends you a great gift.”

Krolia’s mouth twitches. “I see,” she says. “And why do you seek entrance to the Castle ship?”

“To save those who have been taken from us,” he answers, and she looks at him for a long time before nodding.

“I can help you,” she says. “Stay here for the night and rest, and in the morning, I will send you to the Castle ship.”

\--

Keith can hardly sleep; the ground is cold, the shelter thin. He can hear Krolia moving around throughout the night, keeping watch, perhaps. Against what, he does not know.

When morning comes, a wan lightening of the sky, they pack up their things and begin to mount the hoverbike.

“Wait,” Krolia says, and takes Keith by the hand. “I have a gift for you.”

She leads him for a long ways, to a cave hidden in the rock. Within it waits a purple ship, sleek and dangerous.

“When you have freed those you seek, you must find the Lions of Voltron, and use them to overthrow the witch Haggar. Only then will we all be freed.”

“The Lions of Voltron?” Keith asks. “How will I do that?”

“They will call to you and the other Paladins. Heed them, and they will guide you. But first,” she takes the knife from his belt and holds it, and in her hand it transforms into a lengthy and fearsome blade. The purple glow it emits illuminates her face.

“How did you do that?” Keith asks in shock, taking the knife from her hand.

“A mother’s gift,” she says, and kisses him on the cheek. “Take it and be well.”

\--

They board the ship and close the hatch, Keith, and Pidge, and Lance, and Hunk, and Kaltenecker, with the cube and the food machine and the cube and the knife. It’s a tight fit, but Keith holds firm to the controls as Krolia weaves the North wind over and around the ship, lifting it into the air and blowing it into space.

It’s a long and tiring ride, but they arrive unnoticed and dock at the Castle Ship. Keith sets them down carefully and they disembark, finding an abandoned storeroom in which they can rest. Tomorrow they will begin their tasks, but tonight all Keith can think of is the Champion’s face and his mother’s kiss.

\--

In the morning, they venture into the marketplace of the Castle Ship, Keith and Lance and Hunk and Pidge all together. There are hundreds of stalls, and aliens everywhere they look, a teeming mass of beings each intent on their own quest. Hunk leads them through the food court, sampling everything on offer with gasps of joy, while Lance and Pidge clamor to look at the toys and magic tricks on offer from the salesbeings that swarm the floor.

Keith just wants to find the Champion.

They’ve made a full circuit of the marketplace when they hear the stomp of guards approaching. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge scramble to the side, hissing at Keith and pulling at his sleeve, but he stands firm in the middle of the path, blocking it so that the column of guards comes to a stop before him.

Just as he hoped, it’s Sendak himself in the back of the phalanx, Sendak who blusters menacingly forward through the ranks of foot soldiers who have stilled in front of Keith.

“What is this?” he demands, standing a full head and shoulders taller than Keith, his chest broad, his face cruel, his artificial arm savage in its design.

Keith can hear Pidge and Lance chittering nervously in the background, but he allows himself no fear as he sweeps a formal bow.

“My lord Sendak,” he says, “I am newly arrived and merely wished to greet you.”

“Is that so,” Sendak growls, eyeing Keith suspiciously. “What brings you to the Castle Ship?”

Keith fishes in his pocket and produces the small black cube, holding it out on his palm. “I’m here like any other merchant,” he says, “in hopes that my humble wares might please the rulers of our mighty Empire.”

Sendak unfurls a long claw and pokes at the cube where it sits motionless in Keith’s palm.

“What does it do?” he asks dubiously, and the soldiers in front raise their weapons in an abundance of caution.

Keith gestures at the cube. “Lord Sendak is truly the bravest and most mighty of all Galra generals,” he says, and at his touch the cube splits into four pieces which rise into the air and circle.

“Lord Sendak is truly the bravest and most mighty of all Galra generals,” they repeat, “Lord Sendak is truly the bravest and most mighty of all Galra generals. Lord Sendak…”

Keith waves his hand again, and the cube folds itself up, and returns to his hand.

Sendak laughs, deep and booming. “This pleases me,” he says, “what do you want for it?”

“My lord,” Keith says, bowing again, “I could not take your money.”

“Oh, you couldn’t,” Sendak says, amusement in his tone, “very well, what is it that you want other than money?”

“I have heard great stories of the Champion,” Keith says, keeping his face downcast, “I had wished to see him.”

“This is easily granted,” Sendak says, “he will have a match in three days time. You may observe from my booth.” He reaches for his prize.

“No, my lord,” Keith says, hand closing over the cube, “I had wished to see him in person. Up close.”

“Ah,” Sendak says, his eyes narrowing. “Cocky, aren’t you? Good thing you’re little, you’d run into trouble otherwise.” He hesitates for a moment, then shrugs. “What harm could it do? Present yourself to the guard station tonight, and they will take you to see him.”

“Many thanks, my lord,” Keith says, opening his fingers to reveal the cube again, and gesturing it into the air as he steps out of the path of the soldiers, melting into the crowd.

“Lord Sendak is truly the bravest and most mighty of all Galra generals,” it begins, and Keith keeps his head down as Sendak’s laughter and the footsteps of the guards fade into the distance.

\--

“Are you sure the Champion will help us?” Pidge asks as Keith readies himself that evening.

“I have never been more sure of anything in my life,” Keith says absently, buckling his knife in place and covering it with his cloak.

“You have to get him out, first,” Lance points out, and Keith nods.

“I’m hoping he can help with that.” He straightens up, and regards the three of them where they stand in front of him. “Find out what you can while I’m gone. I’ll be back in several vargas.”

\--

The cell to which the guard leads him is large and dark, rusted bars covering the opening and the stench of unwashed prisoners floating on the fetid air. It’s completely silent.

“Can I go in?” Keith asks.

The guard shrugs. “Worst that’ll happen is that you die,” he says, and unlocks the grate. Keith steps inside, and the guard locks it behind him. “I’ll let you out in a few vargas,” he says with a leer, “enjoy.”

Keith waits till the guard is gone, then makes his way silently forward.

“Shiro?” he says quietly into the darkness, but still nothing moves. He can make out a dim shape slumped in the corner, and crosses to it, hand reaching out. He can barely see the shape of Shiro’s body at all, but he’d know the planes of Shiro’s face under his fingers anywhere. “Shiro,” he whispers, “what have they done to you?”

Shiro’s breathing is deep and slow, and despite all Keith’s prodding, he will not wake. Exhausted, Keith decides, perhaps from an Arena match or from training, though he’d never known Shiro to sleep this deeply before. He lets his hands roam Shiro’s body, finding every injury, every careless rub from chains, each scabbed over scar. He works Shiro’s head into his lap, and uses his fingers to comb through the tangled hair, longer now than it had ever been when Keith had been with him before, cutting free the tangles with his knife.

This way, he hopes, maybe Shiro will know he was here.

The guard comes too soon, and Keith wriggles himself free, settling Shiro’s head down carefully on a pillow made of his own cloak. He hides his knife under his shirt and presses a kiss to Shiro’s brow.

“I’ll come back,” he vows, “I won’t give up on you.”

\--

“My lord Sendak,” Keith says the next day, sweeping a bow, “what an honor it is to see you.”

“Did you enjoy your visit with the Champion, little one?” Sendak asks, his grin a disgusting thing full of yellowed teeth.

Keith makes a disappointed face. “He was not what I expected,” he answers, shrugging his shoulders. “All he did was sleep. Not very impressive at all.”

Sendak laughs. “You should be grateful that was all he did,” he says, “but I am sorry you were disappointed.”

“It is no matter,” Keith says, “no one lives up to their reputation after all.”

“Is that so,” Sendak smiles. “And how goes your commerce?”

“My lord,” Keith answers, “I have another item which may interest you.” He gestures Hunk forward, hoping that Sendak will not notice the sweat beading on Hunk’s forehead or the way his knees knock together.

Sendak leans in to inspect the food machine. “What does it do?”

“It produces delicacies without ceasing,” Keith replies, and on cue, the machine spits out a small green glob. Keith slides it deftly onto a small cloth and hands it over. “It is rare indeed.”

“Hmm.” Sendak raises the food goo to his mouth, slicing off a corner with a claw and impaling it to drop it into his waiting maw. “Delicious,” he declares, his eyes widening in delight. “What do you want for it?”

“My lord,” Keith murmurs, “I’d like to see the Champion again. Perhaps this time he will wake, and prove himself more interesting than before.”

Sendak laughs. “Persistent child. Fine, I’ll order it. Present yourself at the end of the day, the guards will let you in.”

Keith bows again, and gestures Hunk to give the food machine over. “My lord Sendak is most generous,” he says, and steps out of the way as Sendak and his contingent march forward, the food machine happily burbling away.

\--

“Shiro,” Keith whispers desperately, shaking his shoulders. He’s limp and lifeless in Keith’s grip, head back and eyes closed. If not for the warmth of his skin and the breaths that raise and lower his chest, Keith would fear him dead. “Shiro, you must wake up!” he hisses, slapping at Shiro’s face as hard as he can bring himself to do it. His eyes are damp with tears he refuses to let fall, but he can’t shake the thought that this is all his fault, and that his fragile plans are coming to naught. They won’t be able to get Shiro out, or save the lions, or free Krolia and Kolivan from their duties or return Allura and Coran to their rightful home, and it’s all because Keith can’t wake Shiro, all because he just wanted to see the face of the man he’d fallen in love with.

“ _Shiro_ ,” he sobs into the Champion’s strong chest, “please wake up. We don’t have time for this.”

“ _Psst_ ,” he hears, and whirls around with his knife drawn. “Small blade, over here.”

Keith heads in the direction of the whisper, feeling his way across the floor in the dark until his fingers find a small chink in the wall.

“He is drugged,” a voice whispers, “they bring him an evening meal and drink before you come. Sendak has ordered it. It is what makes him sleep so soundly.”

“Who are you,” Keith demands, “why are you telling me this?”

“We are Olkari,” the voice says, “and we wish to be free. Word is getting around that you and your friends are here to free the Champion and several others - we wish you to free us, too.”

“Alright,” Keith says, “but only if you promise to help me.”

“It is agreed. We will warn the Champion tomorrow neither to eat, nor drink, but only to pretend. Thus he will be awake when you return tomorrow. But you must not forget your promise to us,” the voice warns, “you must take us, too, when you go.”

“We will,” Keith says, “I swear it.”

He crosses the room again, and cradles Shiro to him until the guard comes to let him.

“I’ll come back for you, Shiro,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to his cheek, “as many times as it takes.”

\--

“Little one,” Sendak says the next day as he makes his rounds, “this is becoming a routine.”

“My lord Sendak,” Keith says, sweeping his most courtly bow yet, “allow me to present to you that rarest of animals, the Kaltenecker.”

“Let me guess,” Sendak says, “the Champion has again failed to please you?”

“Third time’s the charm, they say,” Keith answers, passing the rope of Kaltenecker’s bridle into Sendak’s massive, mechanized hand. “Be warned that any mistreatment of a Kaltenecker spoils her milk and ruins her value.”

“Very well,” Sendak says, “you may have a third visit, but this is your last, so make the most of it.” He leers, and Keith ducks his face so his anger cannot be seen.

“I will indeed, my lord. You are most generous.”

Lance waits until Sendak is gone to elbow Keith in the ribs. “We’re getting Kaltenecker back, right?” he hisses under his breath.

“Yes,” Keith promises, “we’ll get Kaltenecker back.”

\--

“ _Keith_ ,” Shiro’s voice breaks as Keith enters his cell that night, and Keith flings himself across the space to catch in Shiro’s arms. “I almost didn’t believe them when they told me you’d been here, but your cloak…”

“Shiro,” Keith whispers into the Champion’s neck, his arms wrapped tight around his shoulders. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I’ve missed you so much.”

“Hush,” Shiro says, rubbing a hand up and down Keith’s back, “you’re here now. What’s the plan?”

“I don’t have one,” Keith admits, rubbing wetness from his eyes and stepping back enough to stare up at Shiro’s face in the gloom. “I hoped you would.”

“Hmm.” Shiro pulls him back into his arms and settles against the wall to think. Keith lets himself drift, safe and secure for the first time since the night Shiro was ripped from his hands. After a time, Shiro nods determinedly. “Here is what we will do,” he says, and Keith settles in to listen.

\--

“It is a most auspicious night,” Sendak’s voice booms out over the arena, his hands spread wide to welcome the audience, “for our Champion, our bloodsoaked and battle-tested Champion, has decided to take a mate!”

The crowd oohs and aahs in delight, and Hunk shudders as he zips Keith’s armor up the back.  

“However,” Sendak continues, the audience hanging on his every word, “as the Champion is the proudest, and most undefeated, fighter we have ever seen, he has said that he will only marry one who can defeat him in battle!”

The crowd roars its approval, and Keith feels faintly sick. He concentrates on pulling on his gloves, on making sure his boots are properly sealed.

“Are you sure this will work?” Hunk  asks, his tone thick with worry.

“No one else can best the Champion,” Keith says, turning to Hunk as he adjusts his breastplate and mask. “The Galra can’t get close to him because of his arm, and the druids can’t touch him because his mind is too powerful.”

“They think him undefeatable,” Pidge agrees, but her face is anxious. “Are you sure that they’re wrong?”

Keith remembers the hours spent in Shiro’s arms the night before, Shiro whispering assurances into his ear.

_“I saw you practicing,”_ he’d said, _“you watched every fight I ever had. You learned every move.”_ Keith had nodded into the warm solidity of his shoulder, too afraid to speak. _“You can do it, Keith,”_ Shiro had said, _“you know me better than I know myself. They will have to honor it if publicly declared. You will best me, and then I will be free.”_

_“And then what,”_ Keith had asked, _“surely they will not let us leave.”_

_“No,”_ Shiro had agreed, stroking a piece of hair behind Keith’s ear. _“Then we will call the lions to us. If it is as your mother has said, we will be able to call them and make our escape.”_

Keith had nodded again, trying not to think of the many, many ways it could go wrong.

_“You can do this, Keith,”_ Shiro had whispered into his hair, and it was the last thing either of them had said for a long time.

“No, I’m not sure they’re wrong,” Keith says to Pidge, “but I trust Shiro, and he thinks they are.”

“Okay,” Lance says, handing Keith his dagger. “We’ll get the prisoners and be ready. Go kick some ass.”

Keith hugs them each in turn, and steps onto the sand of the Arena.

“The first Challenger,” Sendak’s voice booms, and the crowd goes wild.

\--

The battle is long and brutal. Watching the Champion fight on holovids is entirely different from feeling the crushing blows that rain down upon him from Shiro’s massive set of armor. It’s all that Keith can do to stay on his feet, whirling and dodging, striking with his sword at vulnerable places in Shiro’s guard, harrying him but never wounding. His breath is hard and his body aches from a hundred small cuts and bruises, the sand hot beneath his feet and the roar of the crowd deafening.

Shiro is in a battle trance, Keith can tell - he knew the witch Haggar influenced him in some way during his matches, but Shiro had never been sure how, and had been confident that even under the influence of Haggar’s spells, he would never hurt Keith.

Keith is becoming progressively less sure of this as the fight wears on.

Shiro’s metal arm is spitting fire at him, and swings a purple blade to smash against his own glowing sword, knocking him to his feet. Keith pushes back desperately, fighting to keep from being beheaded even as the Champion presses his advantage, dragging the blazing edge of his weapon so close to Keith’s face that he can feel the skin burning at the contact. His mask is long gone, his cloak in shreds, his arms shaking with fatigue. The crowd shrieks in joy.

“Shiro,” Keith shouts, praying with all that’s in him and searching the Champion’s eyes vainly for a scrap of the man he knows, “ _I love you_.”

“Keith,” Shiro grits out, surprised, the light in his eyes flickering. It’s enough. Keith swings his sword up and severs the metal arm entirely, its purple light dimming as it falls lifeless to the sand. Shiro drops to his knees, his good arm ripping his helmet free and flinging it to the ground. Keith holds his blade to Shiro’s throat, hands shaking.

“I yield,” Shiro shouts, his voice echoing in the stunned silence of the Arena, “I yield!”

Keith has just enough presence of mind to register the furious, dying shriek of Haggar as she disappears with Sendak in a black-purple cloud of energy, and then the roaring in his ears is no longer from the crowd.

“Get in!” Lance shouts from the cockpit of a massive blue mecha-lion, his face jubilant. “We’ve got Kaltenecker, let’s get out of here!”

Keith drops his blade and takes Shiro’s hand, pulling him to his feet. There are five lions surrounding them, mouths open in a deafening shout.

“We got the Olkari, too!” Hunk yells from the yellow one, while Pidge waves frantically at him from Green. “And we found Pidge’s family!”

“Yeah,” she hollers after Hunk, her expression ferocious “and Keith! We found _your_ dad, too!”

“Keith,” Shiro says, his face taking up Keith’s whole line of sight, his hand winding into Keith’s own, “come on.”

“Yeah,” Keith breathes out, transforming his sword back into a dagger and slipping it back into his belt as he begins to run with Shiro to the two remaining lions, “let’s go!”

\--

Piloting the red lion is like nothing Keith’s ever done before, exhilarating and breathless and unreal all in one. The world drops away from them as they burst out of the Castle Ship, and though the remaining Galra send fighters after them, they’re no match for the Lions of Voltron. They shoot their pursuers down one by one until there are no more.

“Paladins,” Shiro’s voice echoes through the starry space between them, “shall we go home?”

A cheer goes up from the other lions, and Keith feels himself begin to smile.

\--

“Are you sure?” Keith asks, his eyes firmly on the wide expanse of Shiro’s shirtfront, carefully avoiding the small Juniberry flower tucked into the lapel of his jacket.

Shiro takes Keith’s hands in his own, waiting patiently until Keith lifts his chin and catches Shiro’s eyes with his own. Keith will never tire of the shifting sandy-grey of Shiro’s beautiful eyes, he thinks, or of the smile that spreads across his face as he holds Keith’s gaze.

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” Shiro answers, and takes Keith’s arm to guide him out the door and to the small arch set up behind Keith’s childhood home. Keith can feel the color rising in his cheeks as their friends and family cheer their arrival, but he has eyes for no one but the man at his side.

There are words, but Keith doesn’t hear them. He lets them wash over him like water, like wind, because there are no words that can capture this moment, that can accurately hold what he’s feeling as he stands before the man he loves and lets their hands be joined.

“Keith,” Shiro says softly, his whole being alight with joy as he leans in, hands gripping Keith’s own in a grasp that Keith hopes will never let go. “You saved me.”

“We saved each other,” Keith says, and lifts his face to Shiro's kiss.  



End file.
